Past perfect continuous? Participles? Modal verbs? Oh the joys of English grammar. On Monday, we began preparing to teach our crazy language. We normally meet at the American Home in the morning, have a 90-minute Russian lesson, and then get instruction on how to teach. Of course, it is one thing to speak English, but it is quite another to explain to a foreigner why a sentence like "Putin does have as more hair than Medvedev" makes no sense. 

Fortunately, our instructors are excellent. I now feel like I can at least understand when to use all the 12-16 (or maybe more--English is insanely confusing in the regard) verb tenses and know how they are formed. English usually verbs give Russian students the most trouble because Russian is quite simple: It has only three basic tenses. Russian verbs--as the locals say--are strong, so helper verbs aren't needed, and Russians often have trouble choosing between several verb tenses in English when one single Russian verb tense carries all the same meanings. Even very advanced learners of English often have trouble choosing between "I saw the movie" and "I have seen the movie" (the difference in meaning is slight, but a native speaker always knows which one sounds right). 

We also met a select group of the Russian students this evening. These were some of the most involved and advanced students, and it was great to talk with some of the people we'll be teaching!